This column has been used for the last few issues to brief IDA members and other readers of the magazine about IDC3, the Third International Documentary Congress, co-sponsored by IDA and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The gala confab will be held October 28 through 30, at the Beverly Hills headquarters of AMPAS.
Why so much hype? Clearly, documentarians take a back seat to the groupiness of the theatrical types, whose festive premieres and PR puffiness splash o'er the pages of Variety and The Hollywood Reporter on a daily basis. Rarely do documentarians have the chance to mix and mingle with their own, unless it's at a film festival where the nonfiction mode is in the spotlight. IDC is an attempt by IDA to offer documentarians, near and far, the opportunity to gather with kindred spirits, investigate the future, evaluate the past and examine the soul of this form of imagemaking.
And there are others out there with a vested interest in the health and vitality of the documentary community. Sponsors of specific sessions at IDC3 are lining up to ensure that topics of concern to them are adequately supported. Generous funding for the event has been forthcoming not only from Eastman Kodak, long our faithful supporter, but also from CBS Cable's Eye on People, the American Society of Cinematographers, the Writers Guild of America, trustee Devillier Donegan Enterprises, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation, and so many others. These organizations and institutions are joining with IDA for this special event so that documentarians can prepare for the fabulous challenges that confront us in the new century.
IDC3 is the cornerstone of October 1998 for IDA and the documentary. The month begins with DOCtober', our second hosting of an international festival of documentaries in a theatrical setting (October 2-8, The State Theatre, Pasadena). Here, invited works from the submissions to our annual IDA Distinguished Documentary Achievement Awards, will appear before the public and qualify for Academy Award® consideration. Then, IDC3 takes over, with three days of panel discussions, screenings, other events and sessions that will focus on the major issues before us. Concluding the month will be the IDA Gala (October 30th), in which the Distinguished Documentary Achievement Awards are given, along with the presentation of the Career Achievement Award, the Preservation and Scholarship Award, and the winners of the IDA/David L. Wolper Student Achievement Award, the IDA/Pare Lorentz Award, and the ABCNEWS VideoSource Award. The following day, we close the month with an all-day screening of the winners, followed by discussions with the filmmakers .
October '98 will be a non-stop festival of films and videos, people and issues, personalities and perspectives, standing as tribute to where the documentary has been and where it needs to go. Be a part of all of this excitement by planning now to attend these exciting events.
David Haugland,
President